You Became the Music (To My Heart)
by ObscureButHere
Summary: Musical prodigy Lexa Woods is sent to a boarding school, where she will learn to live and find love for her music again. Loosely based around 'Your lie in April.' (Clexa fic!)
1. Prologue

**_Notes: So this chapter is just the set up for the rest of the story and starts of based around the plot from the anime 'Your lie in April' but diverts pretty quickly._**  
 ** _There are some pretty heavy themes like an abusive mother (Poor Lexa:( ), so warning on that behalf._**  
 ** _This is just the first chapter of what I hope to be one long story and hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

Key after key, note after note; black, white, black, white, the endless pattern. Her curly hair was starting to slip from its tight braids, her brows were furrowed in concentration and sweat beaded her forehead as her fingers flew across the piano keys.

 _Perfection, always perfection._

Lights beamed onto her, creating the spotlight she was all too used to, the hushed audience making a tense atmosphere…waiting for just one impossible error, an error that could never come to be.

 _Play with your head, not your heart._

The mantra was ingrained into her mind, an anchor to earth as Mozart sung from her piano.

Lexa breathed in practiced rhythms as she felt the music flow through her and out her fingertips like a current of electricity, yet her mind remained calm and devoid of thoughts and emotions.

 _Emotions make you weak; love is weakness._

The last segment ended in a flurry, the technique and timing impeccable. They didn't call her the human metronome for nothing. Endless hours spent working the score into her brain made it possible for her to picture it with an effortless ease foreign to most, even her heart seemed to beat in time with the counts.

As the last note lingered in the air Lexa closed her eyes and savored the moment, her favorite moment, where she could almost pretend she was doing this for herself, in her bedroom with just the audience of her cat. There was no pressure, expectations or judging. Just music and herself.

But the moment never lasted.

Her stoic mask firmly in place, she stood. Back straight and chin raised proudly, she pivoted to face the masses, awaiting her judgment for a few terse seconds.

Soon enough the roar of clapping filled the room breaking through the shock filled silence, a thundering noise, yet it fell muffled onto Lexa's ears as she was far too busy concentrating on matching the merciless stares belonging to the front row sitters- the judges.

The rest of the crowd was shrouded in shadows making only silhouettes available to see, but these few faces were clear as the first time she stood in front of them at only 6 years old, 10 years ago.

The furthest on the left is Dante Wallace, his eyes squinting from too much use yet they still held their familiar kindness and serenity, as well as the look of disappointment Lexa long associated with him; to play with perfect precision but no emotion guaranteed a win but it was not a crowd pleaser. With his old leathery skin he was easily the oldest in the room and iit could also be said he was the wisest.

Sat next to him was Lorelei Tsing, her face almost as stoic as Lexa's, although a small satisfied smile slipped through the mask, causing Lexa to feel a small piece of pride to creep its way into her otherwise emotionless façade, as she happened to be the teacher of her rival Cage. She was a notoriously vicious judge so even that slight show of expression was a rare sight.

Thelonius Jaha held his usual superior expression, his smooth ebony skin gleaming under a layer of sweat, his hands were wringing together with the same sense of glee he always had once Lexa finished playing.

 _You would have thought he taught me himself_ _with the look of pride that's on his face._ She looked at him with a sense of contempt. He couldn't hold a professional expression, despite being sat next to two of the best pianist's in the country.

At the far right of the table sat the youngest judge at 34, Marcus Kane. Lexa hadn't played before him before, as he was a last second substitution, but she had followed his work as he was admittedly a very talented player even if his methods were less technical than she preferred. Last she heard he stopped his career in favor of teaching music at some kind of boarding school, what a waste.

He was slouching as if he was bored and his head was cocked sideways like if he was in deep thought, but Lexa didn't expect to get his approval anyway. It was common knowledge that he preferred music played through emotions and that were played to tell a story; although Dante felt the same way he could look past it in favor of the flawless performance.

Eventually the applause began to quiet and murmuring begun in the wonderstruck audience; Her cue to leave.

Lexa gave a rigid bow before walking off the stage. Her footsteps echoed loudly in her ears, the hollow sound matching how she felt. Empty.

Little did she know that would soon change.

Lexa walked into the empty locker room and sat on a bench with a heavy sigh. The notes were getting harder and harder to hear, it was as if a heavy fog descended over her, suffocating and blocking her ears from the sound emitting from the instrument below her.

It got worse the longer she played, eventually playing on muscle memory alone. It was a horrible feeling, to just hear the thud of the keys pressing down and not the music she used to love so much.

Shaking her head from thoughts she usually tried so desperately to avoid, she stripped and changed from her ankle length, purple dress to her much preferred black tank top joined with an open checkered shirt and jeans ripped from over wear.

She re-tied her braids, making them neat and smooth again before walking out into the lobby. She had been the last act so crowds of nervous and chattering pianists were hanging around with their family and friends, eagerly or trepidly awaiting the results soon to be released.

Loneliness threatened to descend on her again, so she picked up her confident stride and walked through the shows of familiarity and love which she tuned out and pointedly ignored.

Gazes fell upon her in a bouquet of emotions; awe, jealousy, hatred, and confusion. The latter was belonging to people who hadn't played against her before and didn't know why she was walking out of the building without seeing the scores which most eagerly waited for and annoyance belonged to players who were familiar with her rightful arrogance.

The answer was simple.

A cold half smile crept onto Lexa's face, she always came in first.

* * *

Anya was waiting for Lexa at home as she always did, taking her job as guardian more seriously than Lexa had expected. There was only a 3 year gap between them, Anya taking the title of older sister though she had always been more like a best friend, at least until their mother had died last year and a rift had started to grow between the pair.

''How was it?'' Anya needlessly asked from her perched seat on a sofa armrest.

''Fine.'' Was the only verbal reply, but Lexa's slightly downturned lips and creased forehead were all the tail tell signs Anya needed.

''Hmm. It's getting worse then?''

Lexa sighed and considered not replying until she looked at the deep concerned rooted in Anya's expression.

''I just…it feels like my music is fading and eventually I won't be able to hear it at all.''

Anya smiled sadly and looked at her with the mix of sympathy and pity Lexa hated so much.

''I might have something to fix that.''

 _Well that was unexpected._ Lexa looked at her quizzically and an uneasy feeling started to grow in the pit of her stomach. Anya continued and held up an object she hadn't noticed before, a letter.

''You've been accepted to 'Arkadia School of Exceptional Abilities.' It's a very prestigious boarding school for students with high musical talent. You usually have to have an audition, but apparently they've already seen you play.''

Lexa stared at her in shock. _How could I have been accepted to something I didn't even apply for._ As if reading her mind Anya spoke again, taking in the look of growing anger on Lexa's face cautiously.

''I may have sent of an application for you, because I'll be going to Uni next year but I can't leave you on your own so a boarding school is exactly what we need and this one seems especially perfect for you. Besides I spoke to the headmaster Jake Griffin and he seemed ecstatic to have you, even if the school year has already started. You'll be in great hands.''

''And you just decided this for me? I already have a school Anya! I can look after myself just fine, but thanks for the concern.'' She couldn't contain the rage still steadily rising inside of her and knew she had to get away from her sister before she said something she regretted.

 _More things being taken from my control._

''I'm sorry Lex. But it's just the way it is. I think it will be good for you, maybe help pull you out of this fucking fortress you've built around yourself.''

Lexa closed her eyes, trying to hold back the thoughts threatening to drown her. _I wasn't good enough for mum and now I'm not good enough for you._ A sense of defeat filled her, her shoulders dropped, hands unclenched and a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

''Lexa…'' Anya trailed off, unable to find the words that would console her and instead lent forwards to place the letter in her hands.

''Just give it a chance please.''

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_

Let me know what you think:).


	2. The Violin and Piano

**_Notes: Clarke's Pov this time. We see more about this school and Brotp between O and Clarke._**

* * *

Clarke Griffin was slouched in her seat, unbelievably bored as she mindlessly tapped her pen on the desk while the teacher droned on about the cold war.

''In 1948 the Soviet Union, under Stalin's orders, put a blockade around West Berlin. It was an attempt to-''

She felt something hit the back of her head and turned to see Octavia impatiently gesturing at her bright pink phone with her familiar shit faced grin and a balled up piece of paper lying suspiciously on the floor.

Just grateful to have a distraction, Clarke slipped her phone out of her inside blazer pocket and turned it on to see no less than an onslaught of messages.

 _ Octopus 2:23-  _ _Clarke! Why the fuck is your phone off?! (angry face emoji x3)._

 _ Octopus 2:24 -  _ _Professor Gustus is making me want to sleep. How does Bell even like History?_

 _ Octopus 2:25-  _ _Clarkeyyy. Entertain me._

 _Octopus 2:25-_ _I'll throw something at you if you don't turn it on right_ _this minute._

 _ Octopus 2:29-  _ _:)_

 _ Clarkefarts 2:31-  _ _Must we go through this every week?_

 _ Octopus 2:32-  _ _Must we go through History every week?_

After turning to throw an exasperated look at the brunette sitting behind her, Clarke replied.

 _ Clarkefarts 2:34-  _ _Was there something you wanted apart from annoying me?_

 _ Octopus 2:36-  _ _Please. You hate history as much as I do. But now that you bring it up...what have you heard about the new girl who's supposed to be joining? I mean this school never accepts students after school has already started, except for Raven_

 _ Clarkefarts 2:39-  _ _O, how many times do I have to tell you? Just because my Dad is the headmaster doesn't mean he tells me anything. In fact he probably tells me_

 _ Octopus 2:43-  _ _Yeah yeah, but you are a prefect as well. But fine, I'll just have to interrogate my other sources._

 _ Clarkefarts 2:45-  _ _'Sources?' You mean my Dad?_

 _ Octopus 2:45-  _ _You know he loves_

With only 15 minutes left of the lesson Clarke decided she would at least attempt to listen to the remainder; a decision she instantly regretted as boredom took over her again and she resumed impatiently tapping her pen on the desk.

They were given a particularly horrible 2000 word essay for next week, one that meant Clarke knew she would be begging Bellamy for help the night before it was due, just before the bell rang and the students piled out of the classroom in a gaggle of gossip that Clarke caught snippets of.

''Yes, Lexa Woods came in first place again.''

''Again?''

''What did you expect? She's a machine.''

''Well her mind is but her body isn't, she has to break down eventually with the rate she is going at.''

''Doesn't seem likely.''

The students walked away as she waited for Octavia, stopping her from hearing more.

Clarke knew of Lexa of course, any musician would. She had been a national treasure since she was 6. Breaking world records and constantly being on top of the nationals. Videos spread her name quicker than magazines did, word of mouth being just as effective.

 _I chose music because of that first performance._

* * *

/ **10 years ago** /

''Do I have to go?'' Clarke whined to her parents as they were walking to the music hall where the school contests were taking place.

Participants came from different primary schools all over the country. Both ages and ability varied, but talent was often found there which is why her parents were dragging her to it in the first place.

''Sorry sweetie, we couldn't find a babysitter in time,'' said her mother, voice soft and understanding.

''Besides, you might even enjoy it,'' her dad said while raising his eyebrows to dance in the way that always made Clarke giggle.

Once the last of her laughter had subsided and they had stepped into the huge reception of the building, she was reminded of her complaints and huffed.

''But I hear you and mummy play music all the time, I don't need to listen to more.''

Her mother sighed, ''Just give it a chance.''

And she did.

Granted at first Clarke was as bored as she thought she would be, sat in her chair with feet unable to reach the ground and eyes that barely managed to peer over the heads in front of

The first few acts were mundane; piano, clarinet, cello, piano again. Nothing was sparking Clarke's interest until they stepped up.

Two girls looking about Clarke's age were confidently walking onto the stage. The one with braids, which looked like they were barely containing her wild brown hair, immediately stalked up to the piano while the other girl with bright red hair, and plenty of freckles to go with it, took position closer to the audience. A violin was in her hands.

''Oooh honey look, the first duet,'' Her mum cooed, ''and they're so young.''

Jake just hummed in response and continued watching the stage intently, until he saw Clarke sit up onto her knees, neck straining to get a better view and he smiled at her softly.

The introduction spoke out, ''Lexa Woods and Costia Hyland playing Chopin, Nocturne op.9 no.2''

As soon as the first notes hit the air Clarke was captivated. Pure emotion was being channelled through the instruments and the audience was able to hear the soft sound being released as it conveyed happiness and calmness, however Clarke felt a small sense of sorrow emitting from the piano, as if the music was unwillingly revealing something in the player's very soul.

But the tone just served to better their sound, it was infused in the image being created and helped highlight the lightness and freedom being showed by the Violin.

Together they were incredible, there was no hesitation and they were working together like they had practiced a lot longer than possible with their young years.

It was clear they were playing with everything they had, adrenaline from the crowd and atmosphere fueling them more than any food could.

Their whole bodies moved with the music and Clarke could almost make out their expressions which seemed to be both moving with the music and have a constant smile, one bigger than the other.

The sounds faded to a stop and the two girls stood together in front of the crowd, holding hands and looking very nervous.

So Clarke began to clap.

For a few seconds it looked like she would be the only one, but it seemed to awake the rest of the audience from the shock induced stupor and then a wave of applause washed over the two players on the stage before they walked off- matching proud smiles on their faces.

Clarke looked to her father as seriously as any 6 year old could and spoke.

''Dad. I want to play the Violin.''

 _Someday_ , Clarke swore to herself in that moment, _I will be good enough to play with Lexa Woods._

* * *

 **/Present day/**

Since then Clarke worked tirelessly at the Violin, starting from being inspired by that performance to finding a love for the instrument that she never expected to find.

She had been to two of Lexa's performances since, but they were soloists and the imagery of emotion wasn't created again, instead it was a perfect replication of the score and almost robotic.

Crushed that her role model was just a shadow of her former self and from not knowing why, Clarke stopped going to her concerts and instead focused on playing music for herself.

Octavia finally joined her after no doubt trying and failing to get out of doing her homework judging from her grumbling.

''Come on O, let's go find Raven.''

Their usual mornings start with breakfast from 7-8 and then normal classes such as English, Math, History, Geography and science go on until 3 with a break at 11 and lunch at 1:20.

After that the students have 2 and a half hours for homework or to do whatever they want before the 5:30 dinner.

That was when the whole 'Exceptional Music Abilities' thing comes into play.

The students had been split between Marcus Kane and Indra Hawkins; the former being the head of composing and the latter the head of playing.

Then they were further segmented into different music types, Clarke and Octavia played classical while Raven composed it. Other's preferred Jazz or Opera, the variety was endless.

At the end of each term a school wide performance would be given by the students, it could last upto a week and sometimes it was a solo or you were either chosen or selected a partner- depending on what the teachers decided and what the chosen theme was.

This influenced the students practices which were after dinner until 9pm on weekdays and on weekends it was entirely up to the students.

The first term's was in pairs, a composer and player, who would work together to create a piece to be performed. Clarke had been paired with Jasper Jordan, a slightly eccentric but nice enough boy who was taken to wearing goggles on his head.

Octavia and Clarke made their way to Raven's further math class- one that the other two would have no hope in (she was a certified genius after all) and found her hunched over some paper scribbling furiously.

She often did this, finding inspiration in mundane everyday things such as stars, which led to Clarke's personal favorite composition by her, or the one which resulted in Octavia's favorite piece, Butterflies.

''Yo, Reyes, get your ass in gear.''

''Jesus fuck O! I was in the zone.''

''You're always in the zone. Now let's go, we were going to hit the gym today remember?

''Yeah yeah Miss eager. You just want to see Mr muscles and tatts again.''

Octavia had the decency to look slightly abashed but Clarke just rolled her eyes and interrupted the pair.

''Guys, as entertaining as this is I want to go back to our dorm to get changed first.''

The trio made their way down the corridor but were stopped as they walked past the open door to Jake Griffins office.

''Girls! Can I talk to you for a moment?''

They exchanged glances before taking adjacent seats on the couch opposite to his desk.

''You might have heard that we are getting a new student. She will be in your year and since she will also be taking Classical Music, I thought I would put her in your room.''

Immediately there were complaints,

''Sir do we have to?''

''Yeah, we have this whole perfect set up…''

Students were split into four per dorm room, obviously boys and girls were separated- boys in the East wing and girls in the West. However the 4th student who had shared the room with Clarke, Octavia and Raven had left in their 9th year, her name was Charlotte and she cracked under the pressure or something.

Anyway, this left them with extra space and they had the area filled with bean bags and books, it was a pretty awesome arrangement, one they had for a year now and it was about to be ruined.

''Dad, is there no way she can-''

''No, sorry sweetheart but this is final and as you're year's prefect I am expecting you to be her tour guide and make her feel welcome.''

Clarke sighed, ''Fine. What's her name?''

Her dad's eyes sparkled as he spoke, ''Lexa Woods.''

 _Holy shit._


	3. Arkadia

Lexa was sat in the passenger seat of Anya's car, well technically their mother's car which she inherited.

There was a cold silence in the air, only pierced by the low sound of the radio where Radioactive was playing.

 _Welcome to the new age indeed._

They were on their way to Arkadia Boarding School, much to Lexa's chagrin. She knew it was selfish to fight against it, after all she didn't want to stop Anya going to University or block her future. But still...it hurt to know her sister would so quickly send her away.

 _I'm radioactive._

Containing her sigh Lexa continued staring out the window watching as fields and trees flew by.

It's not like she was particularly attached to anyone at her previous school, but by this point everyone knew to avoid her and eventually stopped asking questions about her music, it will be a pain to get to that point again.

She felt Anya's eyes on her but chose to ignore them, something which got more difficult as her attempts of getting Lexa's attention got progressively more obvious.

First just a light cough which turned into hacking until she couldn't seem to contain it anymore.

''For fuck's sake Lexa! You haven't even looked at me since I gave you that bloody letter.''

Lexa looked at her.

''Very funny.''

She sighed, ''what do you want Anya?''

''What I _don't_ want is to lose my sister.''

''You have an interesting way of showing it,'' muttered Lexa.

''I'm not doing this because I don't want you, I'm doing this because I'm scared for you Lex. You're becoming more and more closed off- clearly I can't do anything to help, but this place might be able to.''

''I get it Anya.''

''No, you don't. At least not yet, but I guarantee that by the end of the year you will be thanking me.''

Lexa laughed, ''and I will quit music to join the circus.''

Anya looked at her seriously. ''You better not. You'd make an awful clown.''

They grinned at each other, the atmosphere suddenly a lot lighter than it had been before.

Then they drove round the corner to be faced with Arkadia.

Lexa had brought two suitcases and a backpack full of her belongings, after taking them from the car, she and Anya stood face to face.

And then she felt herself being yanked into a hug. They held each other for about 5 seconds before brusquely pulling away.

''Don't work too hard and remember to eat. I put an envelope of money in your bag that should last until I see you again. Oh and I almost forgot…''

She pulled out a phone from her pocket, ''I know you don't particularly like them, but we need to stay in touch somehow. I've already added my number.''

Lexa took the phone carefully and smiled, ''Thanks A.''

The door in the giant building swung open and two blonde figures stepped out and walked towards them.

''Lexa, Anya, nice to finally meet you both.'' Jake Griffin shook their hands firmly, and turned to the girl standing next to him.

''This is my daughter, Clarke, she will be one of your roommates here and will show you around.''

Lexa turned to her and her eyes immediately widened as she was faced with bright blue eyes and golden hair.

 _Holy shit she's beautiful._

 _No Lexa. Contain the gay._

A small smile formed on her face, ''Thanks, it's nice to meet the two of you as well.''

Anya rolled her eyes before fixing Lexa with a knowing gaze,

''Well little sis, looks like you'll be fine. Later.''

And with a final hug she left.

With a joint effort they managed to get Lexa's gear inside with relative ease and made their way to Jake Griffins office.

''You can leave your stuff inside, I'll have someone bring it to your room later.''

Lexa nodded and dropped her suitcase with a relieved sigh.

''Here's your timetable, you have lesson until 3 and music from 5:30. It's great to have you here Lexa and I'll leave Clarke to show you around.''

Lexa took the slip of paper which she would be following for the next year or so and nodded before following Clarke out of the room.

They walked in silent for a bit, Clarke occasionally pointing things out;

''Girls bathrooms are here, I'll show you the others later.''

''The boy's dormitory's are all down that wing.''

'This is the recreational center; things like a gym, pool and swimming are here.''

All the while Lexa was trying her best not to stare, or at least not to seem obvious about it and she kept speaking to a minimum. Not for her usual 'avoid everyone like the plague' reasons, but because she was scared of what would come out of her mouth.

They reached the cafeteria where a mass of students were sat, the familiar, but still hated, incomprehensible swarm of noise that often came with large crowds reached her ears.

Lexa glanced at Clarke nervously but noticed she was already smiling at her comfortingly and softly said,

''You have to get used to it at some point right?''

She couldn't argue with that logic, or that face.

 _Stop._

They took a further step in, ''so this is obviously where we eat, but it kind of acts as another common room, besides the rec centre, where most of the students are in one place.

Lexa looked at her with tilted head, ''I'm not stopping you from eating am I?''

''No, no I-''

She stopped abruptly, causing Lexa to look around for the cause. It didn't take long to find.

The cafeteria had gone silent and every face was turned in their direction, then the whispers broke out.

''Is that _the_ Lexa Woods?''

''I can't believe it, no way it's her.''

''What is she doing here?''

''Is she the new girl?''

 _What fucking geniuses._

Clarke rolled her eyes to Lexa, giving her a knowing smile, before giving the loudest taxi whistle that Lexa had ever heard.

''It's rude to stare you know.''

Immediately faces started to turned away, admittedly some didn't even blink, as if Clarke whistling like that was a common occurrence, but Lexa appreciated the effort all the same.

''Thanks.''

''Not a problem. Let's move on.''

They went to the music block next, and Lexa had to admit that she was mildly impressed, not that she would ever say it out loud.

There were rooms for private practice, three had pianos while the others contained a chair where an instrument could be taken in.

There were also classrooms, but Clarke only showed her the classical one.

''And this is the music hall.''

It was huge, both the stage and the audience space where at least 2,000 people could be seated.

''Not bad.''

A crooked smile formed in response from Clarke and it was enough to send Lexa's heart spiraling again.

On their way to their room, Clarke was feeding her more information;

''So it's pretty big and we have an on suite bathroom which is always cool, although I should warn you that Octavia is a hogger.''

''Octavia?'

''Oh right, sorry! So Octavia and Raven are our roommates and best friend extraordinaires, even if they can be a pain in the ass sometimes, they're into classical as well, although Raven is more of a composer.''

Lexa nodded, in her experience she often found that close knit friend groups were less willing to make new ones, which would work in Lexa's favor.

The twinge in her heart said otherwise.

Finally they had made their way to the girls dormitories, after Lexa being captivated by the impressive library and Clarke practically having to drag her away.

They entered a common room of sorts. It had a proud. gleaming black piano sat in a corner, comfy looking armchairs and sofas were spread around and as well as tables, some of which were occupied by chess boards.

A particularly intense match seemed to be happening between two players, they were both so intensely staring at the game that they didn't notice the pair enter the room.

Lexa turned to see Clarke grinning wickedly and creeping behind the smaller brunette,

''RAVEN!'' She yelled it right in her ear and clapped her hands on her shoulders for good measure, resulting in one screaming girl.

''Are you fucking serious Griffin? Between you and Octavia…'' She turned around to complain but trailed off at the sight of Lexa.

''Raven this is Lexa, our new roommate, Lexa this is Raven. And the boy she is playing against is Wells, despite boys not being allowed in the common room.'' She winked at him before adding, ''but we have some exceptions.''

Wells rolled his eyes, ''It's nice to meet you Lexa.''

Lexa, unsure of what to make of that display shook his hand anyway, ''likewise.''

''Well new roomy, as great as this was, I need to continue kicking Wells ass.''

At which Wells scoffed indigenously and both of their attention was brought back to the game.

Clarke smiled, ''Yeah, Ravens a little...competitive to say the least. But let's take you to the room.''

There were 4 staircases extending from the common room, they went up the furthest on the right and came face to face with a brown wooden door,

''This whole dormitory and common room only belongs to us and the year above, the lowers are not in the main building.''

They went in and Clarke gestured around awkwardly as if to say, this is it.

Four, four poster beds were in each corner, a chest of drawers next to each one side and a small bedside table on the other, a lamp on that, there were two reasonably large wardrobes, presumably to share and slightly further down, two desks had been placed.

More importantly shelves lined the walls on that end and they were covered in books, an empty one had been put up as well- Lexa couldn't wait to fill it.

On one bed scores of music sheets were spread out, _that would be Raven's then,_ but on the bed next to that Lexa's stuff was already there.

All this, added with the spacious bathroom, made for a very large room and although Lexa was dreading living with roommates, as she hadn't done so since she was 4 with Anya, she admitted it could have been a lot worse.

Clarke was watching her take it all in and seeing that she was done, spoke.

''We have curfew on Sunday 'till Thursday at 11, but luckily for you it's Friday so we can pretty much stay up as long as we want to. And I have no idea where O is, but I can guess that she's probably ogling Lincoln.'' She rolled her eyes, ''Well I'll let you settle in, if you want me I'll be downstairs.''

 _I want you._

 _For fuck sake Lexa. Stop._

Ignoring her internal battle and hoping she wasn't visibly showing any signs of it she nodded, 'Thanks Clarke.'' She liked the way the name sounded, with the clicky k- another thing she shrugged off embarrassedly.

The door closed behind her with a soft click and Lexa looked around the now empty room with a sigh.

 _This is going to be interesting._

* * *

 ** _Notes: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and followers! They're all greatly encouraging and awesome to see.  
_**


	4. Thirteen Clans

**_Notes: We start to see more Clexa take form:)_**

 ** _Not sure how I feel about this chapter, but let me know what you think._**

* * *

 _You couldn't see those green eyes from the audience._

 _I mean holy shit, how are they even real?_

Clarke was contemplating these highly important questions while her head rested on her hand and she was supposedly playing Modern warfare 3 with Octavia.

They snuck in an Xbox 360 and tv their second year, but it was discovered in their third by Wells who accidently told on them. While her Dad was angry, he didn't get rid of it and instead put it in the Rec centre for everyone to share.

Octavia shot her in the head for the 10th time.

''Clarke, stop daydreaming about your new galpal. Speaking of which, where is she anyway?''

''If you're talking about Lexa, she is _not_ my new 'galpal', and then ''she's in the music block.''

''Wow already? She's been here what two hours?''

''She's...dedicated.''

''You don't say.''

Clarke got shot in the head again.

She tossed the controller next to her and stood up.

''Going somewhere?''

''I just thought I should check on Lexa...since she's our new roommate and all,'' Clarke spoke trying to seem as casual as possible.

''Riiight, so you don't mind if I come along?'' Octavia started grinning, ''Or would I be the third wheel?''

''Oh fuck off,'' Clarke rolled her eyes, ''I haven't even known her for a day. I'm just being welcoming.''

Octavia coughed and it sounded suspiciously like a rushed ' _Galpal_.'

''Bye Octavia.''

Clarke tentatively peered around the piano practice room, only to see Lexa hitting the instrument and hastily wiping a frustrated tear away when she knocked.

She looked up startled, ''Oh it's you Clarke.''

''Yes, sorry I didn't mean to...are you ok?''

''I'm fine.''

Clarke was slightly taken back by the curt reply but shook it off and nodded in acceptance.

''Ok well, I just wanted to tell you that lessons start soon, I think you're with Indra as well.''

Lexa nodded and that small, corner smile was shown again.

''What instrument do you play Clarke?''

And there was the way she said her name, enunciating the k, making it sound shorter but more...exotic.

''Clarke?''

She shook her head trying to clear her line of thinking and hoped she wasn't blushing.

''Oh yeah sorry, I play the Violin.''

Something passed over Lexa's face, a change of expression so quick that Clarke thought she must have imagined it.

''It's a beautiful instrument,'' Lexa remarked.

''It is.''

They looked at each other in silence briefly and Clarke got to stare at those green, green eyes again.

A noise in the hall startled them, making them jump simultaneously, Clarke found it easier to avoid her gaze then.

''That would be people going to class. We should-''

''Yes of course, lead the way.''

The pair walked amidst the crowds of chattering students and reached the Indra's classroom, where nearly everyone were already sat.

Her eyes followed Clarke and Lexa in and she acknowledged them with a slight tilt of the head.

''Class.''

One word is all she needed to get their full attention and for silence to fall.

''We have a new student. Please welcome Lexa Woods.''

The silence continued, although now some gawking was thrown into the mix.

Clarke sighed inwardly, _seems it is going to take some adjustment, until then…_

''Lexa, come sit with me and O.''

She nodded, but Clarke noticed how rigid her features had gone again and hated it in comparison to her small corner smiles.

 _That's my goal then; get more smiles._

Once sat down Indra continued, ''As you know, the end of term project is coming up, so today you will go meet your partner and continue practicing,'' she paused to look at Lexa, ''It would be too late for you to start so you can do your own practice until next term.''

Lexa nodded, 'Yes of course.''

Octavia wiggled her eyes at Clarke, mouthing what looked like, _Make your move._

Clarke rolled her eyes and waved her hands at her in attempt to get her to shut the fuck up- which is what she mouthed back, causing Octavia's eyes to narrow dangerously.

 _Uh oh._

''So...Lexa,'' _why are you doing this to me O,_ ''tomorrow Raven, _Clarke_ and I were planning to go to town, maybe see a film. You want to come?''

''We were?'' Clarke asked.

''Duhh, you and your memory Clarkey. Whatcha think?'

The last question was directed at Lexa, who looked like she had whiplash, ''Well I guess, sure? I mean I need to practice as much as I can, but I can spare a few hours, I mean if Clarke doesn't mind?''

She sounded so fragile and unsure, as if being invited somewhere was a foreign concept.

 _How could I say no._

''Of course I don't mind! We would love to have you with us.'' Clarke's smile was perhaps too eager, but Lexa still looked relieved and she did her almost unnoticeable smile that Clarke was already accustomed to.

 _Worth it. Thanks O._

Indra's voice brought them back to reality, 'Great. Now that you girls have that sorted out, may I continue?''

Clarke blushed, Lexa looked embarrassed, but Octavia just smirked.

''Yes ma'am.''

Indra sighed heavily, too fed up with her antics to argue, ''you're all excused, come to me if you need any help and remember no switching partners.''

Octavia left to go get Lincoln, the guy she was working with. He only joined last year, so they didn't know him as well but from what she had seen he was pretty talented. Octavia seemed to think so especially.

Clarke had to go find Jasper, but she was reluctant to just leave,

''Will you be ok? You could always watch me and Jasper?''

Lexa shook her head, ''No, it's okay. I'll leave seeing your performance until the grand finale.''

Clarke laughed, ''hopefully we won't disappoint. See you later then.''

It wasn't long until she found him, well to be more precise he found her.

''CLARKE!'' She turned to see the tall, scruffy boy run up behind her.

''Hey Jay, you ready?''

''Absolutely,'' he punched his fist into the air enthusiastically, 'I've got this awesome piece lined up for you to try.''

She grinned, 'Awesome. Let's get to work.''

''Maybe if we increase the tempo here?''

''Yeah, that could work, give it a shot.''

Clarke played the piece again, after what seemed like countless of retries, increasing the speed of her playing before ending it with a sad lingering note.

''How was that?''

''Really good, it sounds a lot better. Though I think if we make the ending have a hopeful twist it might appease to the masses more.''

''You're the expert,'' She winked at him and then asked curiously, ''have you named it yet?''

''I was thinking something along the lines of Thirteen clans.''

''I like it.''

She looked at her watch and her eyes widened, ''Holy shit it's 11.00 already.''

''Seriously? Well great practice, I'll see you Monday.''

''Alright, see you. And Jay, great score.''

He grinned happily, ''Thanks,'' and with that he left Clarke alone to put her violin away.

After wiping down the strings and loosening the bow she put it securely in her case and took it with her as she walked back to her room.

She checked her watch again, _shit half eleven I hope O and Raven aren't worried._

But when she got up the stairs to their room and opened the door, she found them both completely passed out in their beds.

 _So much for worried._

She rolled her eyes and propped her violin next to her bed before preparing to get ready to crash.

''Clarke?''

The small voice made her jump, ''Holy shit! Lexa?''

She turned to find the girl propped up in the bed opposite, a book in hand and lamp on. She was so used to seeing the space empty which is why she must have completely missed her.

''What are you doing up?''

''Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I saw you hadn't come back yet and just wanted to make sure you- never mind. It was stupid, I'll let you go to sleep.''

Clarke's heart did a little happy dance, for inexplicable reasons.

She shook her head, ''No, that was really sweet Lexa, thank you. My practice just overran, you know how music can take over time.''

Clarke could have sworn she saw a blush highlight her cheeks, but the light next to her was quite low so it was hard to tell.

Lexa coughed awkwardly, ''Well now that you're back I'm going to get some sleep. Apparently we're going out tomorrow.'' She put her book on her bedside table and leant over to turn off her lamp.

''Goodnight Clarke.''

''Goodnight Lexa.''

Clarke grabbed her shorts and tank top before heading into the bathroom. She had a shower, letting the warm water casade down her and calm her thoughts.

She quickly dried, brushed her teeth and got dressed, aware that her eyes were beginning to close from tiredness.

As she crept back into the room, she glanced over at Lexa's bed and found the occupying girl with her hair down and spread out everywhere and her mouth slightly parted as she slept, what seemed quite, heavily.

However she did notice a pair of glasses propped on the tip of her nose.

 _She must have forgotten to take them off after reading._

Clarke tried to squash the thoughts running through her head, namely, _she looks so adorable,_ and went over to gently remove them.

She did have to lift her head slightly, which required touching Lexa's hair.

 _So soft._

The urge to just bury her fingers in her hair was strong, but she tore her hand away after retrieving the glasses.

She placed them on her book before turning to look at her again and smiled softly.

Clarke caught her stare though and shook her head.

 _No. I have to stop this. She literally just got here, seems emotionally damaged and besides could be straight._

She sighed at herself, _what the fuck am I doing,_ and clambered back into her own bed, tucking her duvet up to her chin.

When her eyes finally drifted close she was thinking of green, green eyes.

* * *

They were all sat at the breakfast table, Clarke's head threatening to fall in her scrambled eggs as she fought to keep her eyes open.

''Late night Clarkey?'' Octavia teased.

She looked up to glare at her before reply shortly, ''Yes.''

O raised her eyebrows and laughed.

''Come on, you know you need at least need 9 hours sleep or you get super grumpy.''

Raven arrived at the table with her breakfast and-

''Coffee?!'' Clarke's head lifted excitedly and Raven chuckled.

''Yes, all for you. Octavia texted me.''

Clarke took the mug and inhaled it slowly, ''this is why you two are my best friends.''

After taking a long draught of the elixir, she asked, ''what time are we going to town?''

''I was thinking four, I want to watch this new horror movie and it needs to be dark,'' Octavia grinned wickedly at Lexa who had gone strangely pale, ''you're ok with scary films right Lexa?''

Clarke watched her swallow nervously but narrow her eyes, ''Yes. They are fine.''

''Good. Until then...who's ready to blow some heads off in Mw3?''

Now a slight smirk was tugging at Lexa's lips, ''I don't think you're prepared for that Octavia.''

 _And the gauntlet has been thrown._

The two girls were staring at each other unblinking and Octavia pushed away her breakfast.

''Oh really? We'll see about that.''

They stood up simultaneously and left for what would no doubt be a bloodbath.

 _At least she's starting to fit in._

Clarke continued to calmly sip her coffee, in no hurry to join them, until Raven spoke.

''Yes, I know why you're so hesitant to play. Didn't O and I slaughter you and Bellamy last week?''

Clarke spluttered indignantly, ''you did not _slaughter_ us. Besides it's not my fault if Bell sucks.''

''Sure Princess.''

Now it was Clarke's turn to narrow her eyes dangerously.

''Oh it's so on.''

* * *

 _ **Notes: Looks like Lexa will need to be comforted at this horror movie, who could do that?**_


	5. Operation Succubus

_**Notes: We see see a flashback into Lexa's past and some suspected cheating by Octavia, Raven an**_ d _**Clarke.**_

* * *

Last night Lexa had her usual nightmares, well more like her childhood memories coming back to haunt her.

She had woken drenched with sweat, the unfamiliar setting doing nothing to put her harsh breathing and racing heart at ease. However eventually the soft sounds of three other steady rhythmic breaths, of her roommates sleeping, helped calm her enough to walk to the bathroom.

She stared in the mirror for a time, noting the slightly visible black rings under her eyes and flushed cheeks with tear tracks, before splashing her face with water.

Now awake and with the residing memories still circling her brain, Lexa knew she wouldn't be getting back to sleep and prepared herself for an exhausting day.

* * *

 **/Lexa at 4/**

Lexa was sat under her mother's piano, listening to her play like she normally did. Beautifully flowing from the piano was Love's sorrow, her mother's favorite song, which she often played as Lexa's lullaby.

Her mother paused abruptly, causing Lexa took look up sharply to see Indra Hawkings, her Aunt and mum's best friend stride in.

''it's ok honey. Indra's just going to look after you, while I pick up Anya from her friends.''

Lexa nodded, ''Ok mum.'' And then in an excited voice ''Indra! Look what she was playing for me.''

Once her mother left, Lexa used all the effort she could muster to pull herself onto the piano bench with her arms and then patted the empty space next to her.

''Alright kid, what was she playing?''

But what she wasn't expecting, when Lexa placed her tiny fingers on the piano was for the, almost perfect, admittedly slower, replica of what had been previously played on the instrument to pour out into the minimalistic room.

No, she had expected clumsy childlike bashing of the keys, as it should have been since Lexa had never been taught how to play the piano. Her mother was opposed to it, not wanting her daughters to be exposed to the same pressure she had.

Indra gawked at her, shock frozen onto her face and the usually stoic woman couldn't contain her gasp.

''Lexa, how do you know to play like this?''

''Why wouldn't I?'' The four year old replied, honest confusion lining her face as her large green eyes stared up at mother's friend.

Indra shook her head astonished, before picking the girl up and running to catch up with Nia, as she shouted along the way.

''Ni, Ni! Lexa's a genius, you have to teach her!''

 **/forward 3 years/**

''Again!'' Nia's commanding voice screamed into Lexa's ear, ''You must get it perfect this time!''

Accompanying this was a vicious blow with her ever present knobbly cane.

She was always careful of where she aimed; making sure there would be no visible marks on her face and that the bruises wouldn't obstruct the movements of her wrists or hands.

Lexa made sure her wince of pain didn't make her hesitate in the next press of key's, for that would lead to further punishment. She also swallowed the yelp that was fighting to escape her throat; as that would obstruct her mother's hearing of the notes.

She was all too accustomed to these facts, so despite her young age Lexa battled through the sharp pain until it almost faded into an ache and then readied herself for the next blow she knew was coming as she mistimed a count.

The predicted hit landed on her elbow, where a particularly painful bruise already resided; this resulted in Lexa's arm to jolt and her hand to miss the next correct keys.

She knew the later swelling would be nothing compared to the agony she was about to face.

She turned to look at her mother; sat in a wheelchair with an iv fluid bag next to her she could be perceived as weak and harmless- something which was dangerously wrong.

With narrowed eyes and an evil smile, Nia rolled closer to Lexa who scooted back quickly with a frightened urgency and fell off the bench with a heavy thump.

Her mother tutted, ''Lexa, Lexa, Lexa. You must strive for perfection, mistakes will not be tolerated!''

Smack. The crane hit her painfully under her knee.

''Play with your head child, not with your heart! The score is God, you are not worthy to challenge God are you?''

Another hit rained down on Lexa, this time landing on the crook of her arm.

''And this nonsense with Costia; love is weakness, a distraction. Do you think you are good enough to miss practice time?''

Lexa cowered and held her arms over her head as blows rained down on her, no longer controlled but an unstoppable force of anger. Amidst the pain Lexa barely heard the next words.

''Music is all you have! How will you survive without it? I am only trying to secure your future Lexa, I will be gone soon.''

The rambling soon became incomprehensible as Lexa's hearing and vision slowly turned dull and blurry as she blacked out.

* * *

Lexa had been overjoyed to see Indra again, it had been at least 5 years since she had last seen her Aunt, they lost contact for a while. Her mother preferred to keep guests away, including family, and Indra only found out about Nia's abuse at Lexa's last performance before she died. She felt guilt ridden, being the person to push her into teaching her piano and so preferred to avoid her two nieces.

However she had been similarly happy to see Lexa and welcomed her with open arms; Lexa had immediately texted Anya with the information, but judging by Anya's vague reply, she had a feeling her sister already knew.

They had a mutual agreement not to let their relationship public, not wanting Lexa's classmates to treat her any more differently than how they already were. She still felt marginally more comfortable with the knowledge she knew someone at the school.

Lexa had all this in mind while sat at breakfast with her new roommates; she had barely registered what they were saying, until Octavia aimed a question at her.

''You're ok with scary films right Lexa?''

 _Fuck._

Despite being dubbed as a robot and doing her best to suppress any and all emotions, Lexa had two weaknesses; horror films and beautiful girls. Both of which she seemed forced to face here.

At that last thought she briefly glanced at Clarke, who was closing her eyes blissfully as she sipped her coffee, before looking away just as quickly and cursing herself.

She straightened her back stubbornly and replied, fighting all fear from her voice.

''Yes. They are fine.''

Before she knew it, she had accepted a challenge to play MW3 and was following Octavia to the rec room.

 _At least I'll get my revenge for this film choice._

With this in mind she cracked her knuckles, rolled her shoulders and took the controller with a nod of thanks.

They had barely sat down and got set up when a bickering Clarke and Raven stumbled in, shoving each other in attempt to get through the doorway first.

Octavia smirked, ''I guess we have company.''

The free-for-all match quickly turned into a 3 way alliance against Lexa; due to the three quickly getting frustrated with the bloodbath evoked by her.

Despite the odds being heavily weighed against her, Lexa's arrogance proved rightful and she dominated the others with her no death, twenty kill streak.

Lexa yawned loudly and theatrically patted her mouth before glancing at her watch.

''Oh ha ha, look who is suddenly a comedian,'' Raven snarked.

Octavia, who had just been sniped at the spawn zone, looked enraged and turned to Clarke and much to Lexa's confusion said, ''It's time. Operation Succubus.''

Clarke's eyes widened comically, 'Do you really think it will work?''

Raven was laughing now and high fived Octavia, ''trust me Clarke, it will work.''

Lexa, fearful of whatever strategy they had conceived, continued to defend her sniper spot and was on full alert- which is why she noticed as Clarke started slyly shuffling on the sofa towards her.

Every kill she made, the closer Clarke would get, until eventually their legs were touching.

Lexa chose to ignore her, vividly aware that this could just be a ploy to distract and continued to concentrate on the screen.

However, Clarke's next move was to cross her leg over Lexa's, she did it casually as if she was stretching , but it wasn't overly convincing to Lexa and so she decided to speak up, coughing awkwardly beforehand, ''Clarke...what are you doing?''

Clarke turned her head to look at her, causing their faces to be much so close. With an innocent expression she replied, ''what do you mean Lex?''

If the nickname and proximity didn't throw her off (which they did), then Clarke swinging her hips to wrap her other leg around lexa's waist to straddle her, certainly did.

Lexa stared at the girl sitting in her lap with large, shocked eyes and gazed into the deep blue eyes that were looking straight back at her.

A loud boom emitting from the speaker's, meaning someone just hit her claymore, alerted Lexa to the ploy she had just fallen for.

She buried the unwanted arousal which had started to grow and swung her head to look over Clark's shoulder, but it was too late.

Just as Lexa's fingers clenched over the trigger of her controller and she swung her scope spun to face the figure pointing a gun in her direction, she was shot.

Octavia screamed in victory and threw her arms in the air, just as Raven said, ''Operation Succubus successful.''

Lexa was in a state of shock and all though she still had a 27:1 kill to death ratio, she was barely ever killed in the game and was pissed about the tactics deployed to finally take her down.

She was much too aware that Clarke was still sat on her and so raised her eyes in the blonde's direction, an unspoken message of _why are you still on me._

A blush filled Clarke's cheeks and she whispered, ''sorry,'' before swinging off her lap in one move. Lexa was unsure if she was apologising for the dirty, underhand tactics or for the breach of personal space; either way she missed the warmth.

 _No I don't._

Lexa scowled with wounded pride, but softened when she saw the gleeful expressions sat on the other three girl's, excited even for one kill.

 _I'm getting too soft here._

Raven and Octavia were standing in front of the screen and dragged Clarke up with them to perform their 'ritual victory dance.' It basically consisted of punching fists, warcries and spinning.

Lexa rolled her eyes and just waited out their bragging, the thought of Clarke sat on her still in her mind.

Thankfully they slowed to a stop when Octavia noted the time and eagerly cried out, ''Lunch!''

The four trudged down to the hall and filled their plates with much awaited food, before sitting down with two boys who Lexa was unfamiliar with.

Clarke gestured her hand, towards the one trying to stuff his mouth with as much chocolate cake as possible, and simply identified him as ''Jasper.''

Lexa recalled him as being Clarke's partner for the term and nodded. Her attention was diverted to the other boy, sat opposite to Jasper and next to herself, as he introduced himself.

''Hey, I'm Monty, I play the piano, although I like the harmonica as well, it's an honour to meet you.''

Lexa repressed the urge to roll her eyes at his rambling and shook his hand, hopefully she would be seen as less of an idol and more of a classmate as the year went on.

''Nice to meet you Monty, and you Jasper.''

The latter spluttered something incomprehensible with a mouth full of chocolate and he ended up spraying crumbs all over Octavia, who was sat next to him.

 _If looks could kill..._

Octavia punched him hard in the arm, resulting in more crumbs flying from him. Monty tried to calm Octavia down and to prevent her from murdering Jasper as Clarke and Raven watched, laughing hysterically.

Rather than feel loneliness descend on her at the sight of easy friendship and banter like she normally did, Lexa felt a smile appear on her face. It crept just past her normal corner ones into something slightly wider and Lexa felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Like she belonged.

* * *

 _ **Notes: I decided to add the cinema scene to the next chapter rather than this one.**_

 _ **As always thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows!:)**_


	6. Popcorn Power

Clarke was in the midst of a battle, one she hadn't had to face in a long time.

She was walking through the small village which was about a mile from the bottom of the steep hill their school resided on. With her were; Raven, Octavia, Monty, Jasper and Lexa.

The latter brings us back to Clarke's inward fight of trying not to cast frequent looks at the girl, or at least hide them well enough to avoid the no doubt torturous teasing it would inflict on her if her friends noticed.

But she was just so freaking gorgeous that it was a near impossible task, despite Clarke thinking she had quite good self control. (That conclusion coming from a history of only taking one slice of cake and forgoing the second.).

Not looking at Lexa was a lot harder than not eating more cake and that was saying a lot.

The girl in question was walking on the edge of the group, looking quite uncomfortable with the boisterous interactions between the others., she had her hands tucked into the pockets of her leather jacket and her shoulders just noticeably hunched forwards. Her gaze was trained ahead, but there was a vacant look in her eyes, as if she was in deep thought about something a world a way.

Clarke shuffled up next to her and gently nudged her side with her elbow, jolting her out of wherever she had been.

Lexa smiled her softly, and said a quiet, ''Hey Clarke,'' Causing butterflies to erupt in Clarke's stomach, which she found to be a completely ridiculous reaction to a small expression and a couple of words. After all how could she have become so infatuated with someone in such a small space of time?

''Hiya Lexa.''

 _Hiya, really? Of all the things to say…_

Oblivious to Clarke's mental berating, Lexa continued.

''Thanks for letting me come, you didn't have to do that,'' She looked awkward, nervous and pretty much adorable.

''Lexa, I didn't _let_ you do anything, you didn't need my permission. Besides I'm happy you're here.''

The smile she received let Clarke know exactly how she could become so infatuated with someone so quickly.

''Thank you.''

The reply was short but spoke volumes, it held gratitude for both inclusion and the chance of friendship. Clarke imagined that with her fame which bought names such as 'robot', 'mother's puppet' and 'human metronome' as well as bringing out jealousy, anger or star struck idolism in people, it would have been difficult to make friends.

Admittedly she had seen her as an idol at one point. But the line between idolisation and admiration had been blurred now and even with the short time knowing each other she saw Lexa as more than her musical talent. She saw how she was withdrawn and closed off, but also lonely. She was funny without meaning to be and confident, yet didn't act as if everyone around her were inferior. She was gorgeous, kind and somehow still managed to be self conscious. Then there were her smiles…

 _Oh._

Realisation struck Clarke like a brick. She had known she found her physically appealing, but didn't realise feelings were involved.

 _I have a crush on Lexa Woods. Well fuck._

Clarke's breath caught in her throat and she tried to school her expression as her brain worked on overdrive.

 _Well it's minor right? I'll just let it fade away._

Satisfied that she had come to a solution, despite her clear avoidance on the matter, Clarke bought herself back to her surroundings. They had stopped outside the cinema, the modernised building was a stark contrast to the otherwise old and stone styled buildings.

They stepped inside, the cool air conditioning hitting Clarke in a wave of relief compared to outside where the sun was high in its blazing glory.

Predictably, Octavia ran straight towards the popcorn. The sweet aroma was making Clarke's mouth water, so she wasn't far behind.

The duo came back with 3 large boxes of popcorn and plenty of drinks, meeting back with the others who had picked up the tickets while they were occupied.

Raven fanned out the tickets and waved them, while smiling wickedly.

''Who's ready to feel some terror?''

The audible gulp Jasper responded with served to add dramatic effect to Raven's question and an air of excited apprehension fell over the group.

As they walked into Screen 2, Clarke noticed how pale Lexa had gotten and desperately wanted to take her hand, she reached out before retracting it just as quickly when the earlier promise to herself about getting over the crush flashed through her mind, an untimely reminder to control her urges.

Urges she seemed to have a lot around Lexa.

A sigh threatened to escape her, so she started distributing the goods they had just bought as a distraction.

They were sharing one box of popcorn between two; Jasper and Monty were sharing, Raven was with Octavia and of course Clarke was sharing with Lexa.

They sat in that respective order, Jasper leading the way and automatically directing them to the back of the cinema.

The cold air streaming from the vents was now making Clarke shiver, she turned to Octavia as she wasn't using her jacket and was about to ask for it when she felt a tap on her right shoulder.

She spun in her seat and met the gaze of the wide green eyes staring at her. Movement caught her eyes and she glanced down to see Lexa's arm stretched towards her with her hand clenched around her leather jacket.

Clarke took the proffered item with a happy grin and whispered, 'Thanks Lexa.''

She saw a small smile in return, and she couldn't be certain because the lights had started dimming, but she could have sworn she saw a blush of pink dusting Lexa's cheeks.

Clarke shouldered on the black jacket and was immediately enveloped in warmth, she was also able to find out just exactly how _good_ Lexa smells.

 _Like freshly cut grass and cherries._

Aware that she was sat next to the girl whose jacket she was quite literally inhaling, Clarke looked around doing her best to be inconspicuous, to make sure she hadn't been caught, however the slight smirk on Lexa's face told her otherwise.

This time it was Clarke who was blushing.

Luckily the film had chosen that moment to start playing, so Clarke was saved from any further embarrassment and refocused her attention on the big screen.

Within the first minute screaming blared from the speakers and ghostly figures were jumping out all over the place.

Clarke could practically feel Lexa flinched every time they did and when someone was dragged down the stairs by their hair and Clarke heard her take a sharp intake of breath and shudder.

The whole audience was tense, dramatic music no doubt leading to a horrific moment- one that people were both eager and dreading to see.

Lexa had gone rigid beside her and Clarke's resolve in holding her hand was quickly evaporating. The music reached its peak and in that perfect instant, at the height of tension, a figure suddenly appeared, face all mangled and voice screaming.

There were a few gasp of surprises spread out amongst the seats and some recoils, even Octavia jumped back slightly.

However Clarke didn't need to worry about her urge to hold Lexa anymore, because the other girl had grabbed Clarkes hand in her fright. It was surprisingly cool for someone who seemed so scared, not hot or sweaty as Clarke expected. It was also slightly larger than her own, which meant Clarke's fingers slotted in perfectly with her own.

It didn't take long for Lexa to realise what she had done and instantly panic, practically janking her hand out of Clarke's and looking at her with an almost horrified expression which Clarke couldn't help but find slightly amusing, if a tad insulting.

She rolled her eyes at Lexa's reaction and let loose a small huff of air which could have been perceived as a small laugh.

The embarrassment Lexa apparently felt, didn't stop her from doing the exact same thing not even a few minutes later. But this time when Lexa went to pull her hand away with a hurried, ''Sorry,'' Clarke just thought _fuck it_ and tightened her grip.

Lexa turned her head towards her and in the dark Clarke could barely make out her raised eyebrows. She shrugged in response to Lexa's unspoken question and just popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth with her free hand before turning back to the screen.

She heard a soft chuckle emit from Lexa and a whisper.

''Thanks.''

Clarke felt her hand being lightly squeezed, before Lexa also brought her attention back to the film.

From then, whenever Clarke felt a tremor go through Lexa, she would gently stroke the back of her hand with her thumb.

It was an effective method and seemed to work for calming her down, plus it felt nice. At least it did for Clarke, and she could only hope it did for Lexa as well.

Soon ( _too soon),_ the end credits were rolling and the crowd back to restless murmuring. The lights came back on, as did the feeling of reality.

Lexa and Clarke looked at each other, blue meeting green, hands still intertwined. Everything else became silent, it was only them. Lexa started to lean towards her, eyes flittering down to her mouth and as Clarke started to meet her, popcorn hit her in the back of the head.

She froze in surprise and dropped Lexa's hand, she looked at Lexa apologetically before turning to glare at Octavia, who had her shit eating grin plastered on her face.

While Clarke was kinda pissed about the interrupted moment, (and popcorn in her hair), part of her was grateful, she made a promise to get over her crush and she meant it. Not only had she only known Lexa for a couple of days, she also had a feeling that her heart would get broken. After all she had witnessed first hand how Lexa's music had turned from full of emotion to empty, and as a result she didn't know how emotionally available she was and didn't want the same thing to happen to her. That fear is what prevented Clarke from pursuing whatever she had started to feel towards Lexa.

And to be perfectly honest, Clarke wasn't sure she was ready herself, her past relationship with Finn, the boy her friends had dubbed as 'Fuckboy Finn,' hadn't exactly ended pleasantly.

At first he was charming and sweet, funny even, however it soon became apparent that there were plenty of other girls who thought so to, something he wasn't afraid to capitalise on. Finn was quick to clarify that they had not actually said they were monogamous, something which Clarke grudgingly accepted, despite protests from her friends, and so they tried to move past it with new boundaries in place.

However it seemed old habits die hard, something Clarke learnt the hard way when she wondered on Finn and one of his admirers after she had just poured her heart out on stage, through music of course.

To add insult to injury this was just after she had told him about -

Clarke was snapped out of her reverie by more kernels of popcorn being unceremoniously hurled at the two girls. Shaking herself out of darker thoughts and past mistakes, Clarke raised her eyebrows at Lexa, trying to non-verbally tell her the, not too unpredictable, plan she had conducted. And by some miracle, if Lexa's mischievous smirk ( _holy cow)_ was anything to judge by she understood and was on board.

They nodded simultaneously to each other before Lexa whispered, rather menacingly to Octavia.

''Destroying you in video games wasn't enough? So be it,'' and then, ''I apologies for the innocent casualties, but all is fair in love and war.''

Before the others even had time to comprehend what she was talking about, other than a widening of fearful eyes, Clarke and Lexa had thrown the entire content of their popcorn hazardly over whoever they could reach, before Clarke then quickly grabbed Octavia's and Raven's remaining popcorn and did the same, this time tipped directly onto Octavia's head.

Clarke had known O long enough to realise they should run, fast.

So that's what she did, grabbing Lexa's hand on her way and dragging her behind.

By the time they had reached the cinema lobby and were hiding behind the pic' and mix they were both out of breath and panting, with identical grins on their faces.

''Octavia is going to kill us. From past experiences, don't eat anything she gives to you.''

Lexa laughed, the most loose and carefree sound Clarke had heard from her so far, and then nodded, realising that Clarke was actually being serious.

She had opened her mouth to speak before Clarke quickly cut her off with a hand covering her mouth when she heard rapidly nearing footsteps, followed by familiar voices.

''They couldn't have gotten far, check the toilets.''

''Fuck. Jasper, look in the boys.''

''They must have left, the bloody cowards- no worries, they don't call me a genius for nothing, let's get back the dorms, my revenge plot is plotted.''

The voices faded out (''Who calls you a genius?'' and ''Shut up Jasper.'').

Clarke's suppressed giggles burst out, soon turning into full blown laughter, especially when a worker spotted them behind the sweets, giving them odd looks. Lexa's laughter soon joined, aware of the bemusing sight they gave and high from adrenaline.

 _Best music she's produced yet._


	7. Heda

Chapter Text

Lexa missed her cat.

He was a black and white tabby, all purrs and cuddles and the only constant, especially for comfort, in her life, at least until now.

* * *

 _Lexa was 12 years old, Costia had gone and she had just ran away from a particularly harsh beating, so was doing her best to avoid home._

 _Rain was pouring from the sky, unhesitant in soaking everything in its path. Lexa was shivering and wrapped her arms around herself, a futile attempt to fight the cold._

 _She felt depleted, her energy emptied, so after wandering the streets for about half an hour she gave up and sat down heavily, tears streaming down her face._

 _She couldn't comprehend why her mother hated her so much, why her purpose in life was to see Lexa suffer. Anya had been sent away to stay with Indra when Lexa's gift had been discovered, to allow her mother more focus in training her youngest daughter._

 _This meant that Anya remained blissfully ignorant of the brutal side of their mother (ignorance that would only remain for a few more months). Lexa helped keep happy presences up, not wanting to upset Anya, or put her under the same shadow that she was, but she did stay in constant communication with her sister, who also went to every single one of her shows._

 _However the separation from her Anya meant Lexa was more lonely than ever, the only reprieve she found was with Costia, her partner for duo competitions and first love, even if it was in the child-like sense._

 _Infact, that made it more pure and naive. It felt as if nothing could get in their way, they were unaffected by any adult reservations._

 _Until Nia ruined that as well. She paid off Costia's mother, bribed her with an extortionate amount of money to persuade a move to England._

 _And just like that, her best friend of 6 years was gone._

 _Lexa didn't even get a goodbye, she just woke up one morning and went to Costia's house like usual, to receive no answer. The same went on for a week, until Lexa's concern outweighed her fear and she questioned her mother._

 _Which led to this predicament, but at least she got her answers._

 _Lexa was also worried about her music, the problem had gotten worse with age and Costia leaving seemed to make it 10 times worse. It was like a darkness suffocated her, muffling music and sometimes even rendering her incapable of hearing it, meaning muscle memory alone is how she got by, it was a heartbreaking experience._

 _Everything Lexa loved and cared for was disappearing and she was helpless to stop it._

 _Familiar hyperventilating started, along with a rapid heart beat and her held felt like it was closing in on itself. Lexa leant her forehead onto her arms and closed her eyes, desperately trying to grasp at the control which was so quickly slipping away._

 _Suddenly a small squeak broke through her thoughts._

 _Bewildered, Lexa spun trying to find the source of the noise. She held back her sniffles and hastily wiped her eyes, suddenly on full alert, shrugging off the fog that had started to cloud her thinking._

 _Movement, a shift in a pile of flattened cardboard boxes, caught her attention and Lexa cautiously walked towards it, reaching out with one hand to push them apart._

 _A tiny, shivering, ball of fur was curled into itself and large blue eyes peered up as it's only, measly, shelter was taken from it._

 _Lexa's eyes widened in both wonderment and shock._

 _"Hey little guy," she spoke softly, aware that he was probably tentative around people and aghast at the thought of scaring him_

 _She slowly reached out to him, before picking up his soaked body in one scoop. He let out a feeble, miserable sound, before resigning to his fate and curling against the new warm source provided to him._

 _She smiled, heart melting at the sight and hugged him closer, trying to pass on whatever heat she could._

 _A slight rumbling came from the animal and Lexa realised he was purring as she stroked behind his ears._

 _She sighed, "Just like me aren't you buddy, abandoned, scared and lonely. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you.''_

 _Lexa managed to hide the kitten from her mother and he was the only thing that kept her sane. She cared for him and loved him with everything she had and likewise he enjoyed being doted on and adored._

 _Eventually Lexa named him Heda, due to his habit of butting his head onto her when wanting attention._

 _Lexa managed to keep him hidden for a whole 2 years, until she didn't have to anymore, as her world spun on it's axis and everything changed._

* * *

Now Lexa was desperately missing Heda, she knew Anya would be taking good care of him, however that didn't lessen the ache in her heart, not too dissimilar to the feeling of homesickness.

She sighed heavily, the sound drawing the attention of her companion.

''What's wrong?"

Clarke's concern made a small smile rise to Lexa's face and how could she reply with anything but the truth.

''I wish we were allowed pets.''

Clarke stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, I've argued a dozen times with my dad about that particular rule. What pet do you have?"

"A tabby, I've had him since I was twelve."

The two girls were sat in the common room, after returning to the school and suspiciously not being able to find Raven and Octavia. They tried interrogating Monty and Jasper, but even Lexa's infamous glare couldn't weasel any information out of them. Octavia must have some pretty good blackmail hanging over their heads.

Clarke smiled sadly, "who's looking after him?"

"My elder sister, Anya. You probably saw her dropping me off."

"Oh right! I've seen her before as well, having a meeting with my dad. Little did I know it was about you."

"Odd. She never mentioned coming here before," Lexa mused.

"Maybe it just slipped her mind?"

"Perhaps. I'll ask her sometime."

Suddenly a mischievous smirk appeared on Clarke's face, instantly putting Lexa on guard.

''Hey, Lex?" Clarke asked in that tone of voice which meant she wanted something.

Lexa narrowed her eyes, both at the nickname which they were both getting far too accustomed to for her liking, and out of suspicion.

"Yes?"

"When is your birthday?"

"Why?" Lexa asked, still on the defensive and bewildered with where that question came from.

Clarke, ever the picture of innocence, just looked at her with largened blue eyes and a tilted head.

"Because I have a desire to know the date of which my friend came into existence of course."

Lexa had contradictory feelings about the word 'friend.'

On one hand she was thrilled, it was the first time, in a long time, that she had been regarded to as a friend and Lexa was far too self criticising to ever assume the title herself, but on the other hand her stomach dropped, because a blue-eyed, golden haired, angel was calling her friend, with no indication of anything more.

Lexa was shaken out of her analytical musings by a light touch on her arm.

"Thirty-first of October," she hastily replied, because if she didn't distract herself with the whole purpose of the conversation she may have blurted out something completely unnecessary like, 'what does friend mean?' or 'is there any hope for something more?'. Things Lexa really didn't want leaving her mouth, or even her unconscious.

"Well that was easier than I thought," Clarke said, to which Lexa just shrugged and replied wittily.

"If my friend wants to know the day I sprung into existence, I will tell her."

"Well, thanks, it is information I will forever cherish, but you do realise the irony?"

"What irony?" Lexa replied, trying to remove the bitter taste that arose with using that accursed new word.

"You are terrified of horror movies and yet are born on the one day when all the things on screen come to life, usually in the form of tiny humans wanting sweets."

Lexa laughed unexpectedly, "I have never seen it like that before. I guess that explains why I never really liked my birthday."

"Never liked your birthday?! Have free gifts, lots of attentions and parties done something to offend you?"

Lexa's smile faded and she knew they were getting into dangerous territory.

"My birthdays have, mostly always, consisted of piano lessons. Although my mum would let me leave practice an hour early which was nice, plus she was less harsh. Anyway, parties were never really in the picture."

"Harsh, with your practice? What do you mean?" Clarke asked, concern and confusion written on her face.

Lexa realised her slip up too late and rather than trying to correct it, she tried to cover over it.

"Well my birthday's weren't too bad, Anya would always surprise me with a gift and so would my aunt." She was careful not to indulge in any further information this time, as she really didn't want to start talking about Costia.

Clarke frowned, not convinced.

"No friend of mine escapes a true Griffin style birthday celebration."

Touched, but wanting to change the subject and move the limelight away from herself before the emotions became too overwhelming, Lexa moved onto a lighter and more impending topic.

"So, what should we do about the trap that is no doubt waiting for us?"

Clarke hummed, considering it.

''Well, I don't know about you, but I would prefer to get them before they get us."

Lexa grinned, worries disapparating for the time being.

''Clarke. I think I know exactly what we can do and who we can recruit to help us."

* * *

"Come on Indra, please!" Lexa pleaded with her aunt, willing her to agree.

"Absolutely not. It would reflect badly on me to be so juvenile Lexa and quite frankly I would have expected better from you," Indra scorned her, but it's harshness was lost due to the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, a mirror of her nieces.

"But-"

"No buts. The decisions final."

Apparently that's when Clarke decided to intervene, laying out a simple, but immensely effective argument.

"It's for Octavia."

Indra's mouth curled into a smirk, "I see. Well in that case…"

Lexa's smile widened by the gleeful, almost wicked, sounding laugh which Clarke let loose, followed by a prediction.

''Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

* * *

Poor, unsuspecting Octavia had no idea what was in store for her. However, she and Raven had conducted a plan of their own; Operation get Lexa and Clarke to share the same bed, aka 'Wed Clexa Step 1."

Before constructing their masterpiece, the duo had waited under their respective beds for a rather uncomfortable time, until their favorite couple-to-be had stuck their heads in to try and locate them. As they left, Octavia heard Clarke grumble, something about sticky popcorn hair.

''We are such good friends," stated Octavia, as she and Raven cleaned remains of any superglue that had, unsurprisingly, stuck to their hands.

"I'm not so sure our roommates would agree with that O," Raven picked at the glue with a disgusted look on her face.

"Appreciation can come in different forms. I will accept their gratitude in the role of bridesmaid."

"Not maid of honour?" Raven gasped in mock shock, "Don't say you're going modest on me!"

"While I am very deserving of that position, it wouldn't be fair to ask Clarke to choose between us. So I think a joint position would be appropriate."

"Wow, thanks, that's oddly considerate of you Octavia."

"Hey! I can be considerate." She replied with a pout and scowl.

"Of course, you're the poster girl for it," Raven rolled her eyes, "And what about Lexa, doesn't she get a say in the maid of honour?"

"Oh please, she is so wrapped around Clarke's finger that she would let fucking Murphy take the role if it made her happy."

Raven laughed, "that's more like the Octavia we know and love. Actually I don't think Lexa has met Mud Boy yet. That's an introduction I can't wait to see."

With a grin, Octavia nodded in agreement, already visualising the carnage.

"Well Raven," she said as the two girls walked out of their bathroom and admired their handiwork, "I think that is a job well done, if I do say so myself."

With wicked grins, they patted each other on the back.

"Revenge almost complete. I just have to go put them off the scent with a more well-used, if predictable, technique."

"Poisoned palette?"

"You know it, now, let's get this shit started. "

* * *

 **Thanks for all your encouraging reviews, favorites, follows ect, they are amazing to see:)**


End file.
